Starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as Wanda Maximoff and Vision, respectively,
the aptly titled WandaVision made its double-header debut on January 15,
2021. The series has quickly established its aesthetic as one of mystery and parody.
Here's where we are at the end of WandaVision episode 2.
For as entertaining as WandaVision is proving to be, it's impossible to ignore the fact that
the show's very existence seems to go against the current MCU timeline. Vision is supposed to still
be dead after Thanos' forceful removal of the Mind Stone from his head, and Wanda certainly wasn't
alive in the 1950s or '60s. The first episode of WandaVision doesn't delve too deeply into what's
really going on, but the second ups the ante in a big way, with some hints about what's happening.
Early on in the episode, Wanda takes notice of something sitting in her front-yard bushes:
a small toy helicopter with a mysterious sword emblem on its side -- which seems like a clear
reference to a S.H.I.E.L.D.-like organization in the comics called S.W.O.R.D. Later, during Wanda's
meeting with the neighborhood organizer Dottie, a nearby radio begins to speak directly to her
"Wanda? Who's doing this to you, Wanda?"
The odd occurrences don't stop there.
Following her and Vision's successful magic act at the Westview talent show, the two go home,
but there's no time for celebration. They're alerted by a loud noise outside,
prompting them to investigate it. What they find is a person, wearing a beekeeper suit with bees
flying around him, crawling out of a manhole. The man's identity remains unknown, but that same
S.W.O.R.D.-looking logo is adorned on the back of his outfit, implying his connection to the group.
So, what is S.W.O.R.D.? In the comics, the acronym stands for Sentient World Observation
and Response Department, and it sort of functions similarly to S.H.I.E.L.D, but in space. Recently,
meanwhile, promotional images for a Topps digital trading card set for WandaVision
have been making the rounds on the internet -- and one of them features a breakdown of
the organization's new acronym: the Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Department.
S.W.O.R.D.'s motives and their connection to Wanda
and Vision's reality will likely be expanded upon in the coming weeks.
Midway through WandaVision episode 2, the main action pauses and an in-universe
commercial plays. It's one for the Rolex-like watch company Strücker,
whose watches feature the HYDRA insignia and name on their faces. That's a clear
reference to Marvel's fictional terrorist organization determined to take over the world,
but what about the name of the watch company itself? It's also an indisputable nod to
established MCU lore: one of the leaders of HYDRA in the films is named Baron Wolfgang von Strucker.
"Baron Strucker. HYDRA's number one thug."
It gets even more interesting when you remember that Baron von Strucker and
Wanda have a history -- and not a nice one at that. Von Strucker first appeared in the
MCU in Captain America: The Winter Soldier's mid-credits scene, where he was shown examining
Loki's scepter and a pair of super-powered test subjects. Those subjects? None other
than Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. In a way, von Strucker is directly responsible for
Wanda's transformation into the Scarlet Witch, and one could even argue that, because of that,
he's also responsible for everything that's happened to Wanda post-experiment.
It's also important to note that in the commercial, we hear the Strücker Watches tagline:
"Strücker -- He'll make time for you."
Von Strucker seemingly died in Avengers: Age of Ultron, after Ultron murdered him as
a message to the Avengers. One would assume that von Strucker's death in the 2015 movie
rules out a return in WandaVision, but Vision's supposed to be dead, too. There's
a very real possibility that future episodes of WandaVision might see von Strucker appear,
"making time" to visit Wanda in her uncertain reality for some evil reason.
The symbol on the back of the beekeeper's uniform appears to be the logo for S.W.O.R.D. but the
bees buzzing around the unidentified man are a more intriguing mystery. In the Marvel comics,
there's a supervillain named Swarm, a former Nazi scientist and beekeeper
who combined his consciousness with a colony of mutant bees. In the comics,
he doesn't have much to do with Vision and the Scarlet Witch, but small details like that have
never stopped the MCU from adapting and changing other comic characters to suit its story needs.
Another potential explanation for the appearance of the mysterious beekeeper in WandaVision
is that he's somehow related to A.I.M., the criminal organization also
known as Advanced Idea Mechanics. A.I.M., which first showed up in 1966's Strange Tales #146﻿,
was an off-shoot of HYDRA, and its leaders have included the android Super-Adaptoid,
Monica Rappaccini, and M.O.D.O.K., who is set to appear
in his own series on Hulu. In the MCU, Iron Man 3 establishes that Aldrich Killian created A.I.M.
Generally, while leaders of the organization dress in business attire, other A.I.M.
operatives and technicians sport uniforms and helmets that resemble beekeepers' gear,
much like the anonymous man's uniform as seen at the end of WandaVision's second episode.
On top of that, with the reference to HYDRA in the Strücker Watches commercial,
it appears that HYDRA could be influencing Wanda and Vision's life in some way. Of course,
none of that explains the S.W.O.R.D. logo on his back. All in all, we are buzzing with confusion.
Early on in WandaVision's first episode, Wanda makes it known that she wants more than anything
to fit in with her and Vision's new community. She's aware that they're out of place in the
neighborhood and certainly doesn't want to draw any attention if she can help it. As if that
wasn't difficult enough, the societal pressures of mid-20th-century America quickly start bearing
down on Wanda, particularly the expectation that she and Vision will expand their family.
This subplot begins during Wanda and Vision's dinner with the Harts,
as Mrs. Hart unleashes a barrage of questions upon the two.
"So, where did you two move from?
What brought you here? How long have you been married? And why don't you have children yet?"
WandaVision episode 2 continues this plot line in a big way, first alluding to the importance of
kids in their community through the local talent show containing the tagline "For the Children."
"For the children."
Thankfully, Wanda's worry quickly disappears not long after the talent show wraps up. In
the episode's closing moments, she reveals a brand-new baby bump, apparently and suddenly
quite pregnant. Vision appears supportive, and Wanda is obviously excited, but given
how uncertain this TV-influenced dimension is, one has to wonder what's really going on.
In the comics, Wanda and Vision do have children: Thomas and William,
who are twins just like Wanda and her brother Pietro are. With Vision being an android, though,
Wanda has to use her superhuman powers to conceive her sons ... which leads to
a heartbreaking revelation in 1989's Avengers West Coast #51 that they're not actually real.
That comic detail should certainly take on some particular significance when you think about
Wanda and Vision reassuring each other that her sudden pregnancy is "really happening."
Ultimately, however, comics being what they are, the two boys end up being real after all,
and go on to become teen superheroes themselves. Thomas, now going by "Tommy,"
is the lightning-fast Young Avengers member Speed. William, aka "Billy," is also a member
of the Young Avengers -- a hero called Wiccan who possesses magical and telepathic powers.
A striking difference between WandaVision and the
rest of the MCU up to this point is the use of a black-and-white filter,
as seen in the first two episodes. However, as the latter progresses, it becomes more
and more apparent that color is on the way -- with potentially important implications.
Wanda is the first character to encounter non-black-and-white shades when she
investigates the odd miniature helicopter that lands on her property. Since it sports a bright
red-and-yellow paint job, the toy immediately stands out to Wanda in this monochromatic world.
Later on, after the detonation of the talking radio, Dottie's glass shatters in her hand,
resulting in an open wound on her palm spilling crimson blood. From there,
the episode remains devoid of color until the very end.
To erase their unsettling encounter with the figure in the beekeeper suit,
Wanda rewinds everything to bring herself and Vision back inside, and the two go on as if
the moment never happened. However, they notice that color is starting to appear in their house.
How this is happening remains a mystery, but it certainly fits with WandaVision's
trend of replicating television history, as full-color TV became the norm in the mid-1960s.
The fact that Wanda herself rewinds time when she sees something she doesn't like seems to
be a clear sign that she's much more in control of what's going on than even she may realize,
so the world's subsequent colorization would probably be her doing as well.
However, the possibility remains that she could be being manipulated, too.
With seven more episodes incoming, WandaVision will inevitably answer these burning questions one
by one. Although, it's entirely likely things will get more convoluted before we see any resolution.
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